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13" rMB Quad-Core?
- Thread starter loon3y
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yeah how long would you guys think? a year from now? 2 years from now? 5?
i want to get a 13" but common sense dictates to get a 15". since the base 15" completely destroys the maxed out 13"
I'm at odds, the one pound difference does make a difference with me.
i want to get a 13" but common sense dictates to get a 15". since the base 15" completely destroys the maxed out 13"
I'm at odds, the one pound difference does make a difference with me.
Given what they did to the Mac mini, I'd say never. As long as Apple makes $1 more on a 15" sale than a 13" sale, don't expect it.
But on a more serious note, you'd have to look at the intel roadmap to see what is possible. And right now, Intel is planning to crank out the dual cores in broadwell. So no dice for a while.
But on a more serious note, you'd have to look at the intel roadmap to see what is possible. And right now, Intel is planning to crank out the dual cores in broadwell. So no dice for a while.
To be fair I can see why they dropped the mini down to dual core.
It's all to do with going from Ivy Bridge to Haswell architecture.
Ivy Bridge used the same CPU pinout for both dual core and quad core, meaning that the same logic board could be used for both.
Haswell doesn't. You can't drop a quad core CPU on a logic board designed for dual core.
That gave Apple 3 options.
1. Stick with Ivy Bridge and get whined at for using out of date technology
2. Design 2 logic boards for the Mac mini... Not worth the extra cost, it's a low margin computer compared to all of the other models.
3. Choose one architecture, either dual core or quad core.
They went with option 3, and chose dual core.
They will keep the 13s dual core so they can upsell you to the 15" if you want the extra power. Its a premium feature, while the 13's are more budget minded
I recently thought about upgrading my mini to a quadcore but decided against it.
For most users there aren't many applications for a quadcore.
I monitored my usage for a while and I use (according to istat) on my 13" rmbp:
Ssd: 75%
Gpu: 30% - 50%
Ram: 20% - 25%
Cpu: 5% - 15% and rarely up to 70%
I usually multitask Lr, Ps, Pages, Safari, Mozilla, Mail, Word, Numbers, Preview and some generic apps.
For myself i came to the conculsion that quadcores are a niche product.
For most users there aren't many applications for a quadcore.
I monitored my usage for a while and I use (according to istat) on my 13" rmbp:
Ssd: 75%
Gpu: 30% - 50%
Ram: 20% - 25%
Cpu: 5% - 15% and rarely up to 70%
I usually multitask Lr, Ps, Pages, Safari, Mozilla, Mail, Word, Numbers, Preview and some generic apps.
For myself i came to the conculsion that quadcores are a niche product.
I don't think it's so much Apple trying to sell people the 15" as it is actual issues with heat and power consumption. The first revision of the rMBP 13" had dual heatsinks, they've now gotten that down to a single heatsink-fan assembly, marking an improvement in power consumption in the 13, which means that if they were to release a QC version, it would need all that cooling put back, and along with battery life being dramatically hindered, taking a few points off of the machines spec list.
On top of all that a QC i7 is no good without a discrete GPU for most people, therefore that would have to be thrown in also, which is nigh on impossible at this point with a 13" notebook as thin as an rMBP.
My reasons for this is that there is a niche of people who want that kind of a notebook and are willing to pay for it, to have it in 13".
On top of all that a QC i7 is no good without a discrete GPU for most people, therefore that would have to be thrown in also, which is nigh on impossible at this point with a 13" notebook as thin as an rMBP.
My reasons for this is that there is a niche of people who want that kind of a notebook and are willing to pay for it, to have it in 13".
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